Canadian Buffaloberry vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

Canadian Buffaloberry vs Water Arum

Shepherdia canadensis

Calla palustris

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Canadian Buffaloberry
Water Arum

Canadian Buffalo Berry is a native deciduous shrub found throughout North America. This hardy, medium-sized shrub will tolerate poor soil conditions and produces attractive, edible–though very bitter–red fruit.

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

Canadian Buffaloberry Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 1b
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: none


Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Foliage: dark green with silver undersides
Flowers: tiny, red
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: red bitter berries (edible)
Berries: red, in clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Other Names: canada buffalo berry, canada buffaloberry, canadian buffaloberry, foam berry, foamberry, russet buffaloberry, soap berry, soapberry, soopolallie
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon